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Saturday, December 30, 2017

Valerie writes paranormal and contemporary
romances with strong alpha males and brilliant, beautiful heroines. She lives
in Denver, Colorado with her wonderfully supportive husband and their funny and
wise black lab. She's addicted to coffee, crime shows, and reading and writing
character driven romances.

BLURB for Unwrapped (A Unexpected Novella)
(Contemporary M/M Romance)

Friends to lovers.

Jack had
done what he’d always done to protect himself. He allowed fear to take
over and as a result, he pushed Adam away.When Adam finally left, Jack understood that if he loved Adam as much as
he claimed, he needed to change before Adam could risk his heart again.

Lovers to forever.

Adam
understood why Jack kept his feelings secret, but after being ignored one too
many times, he left.But Jack won’t give
up and when he proves to Adam how much he wants their relationship to work, can
Adam risk his heart to the one man he’s loved all over again?

Will Jack and Adam find their
happily-ever-after during the season of miracles?

Excerpt for Unwrapped (A Unexpected Novella)

Jack paused before he asked the
question that could break him.

“Do you…truly want out of our
relationship?”

He could hear Adam breathing on the
other line and held his own as he waited for Adam to answer.Jack understood entirely in that moment what
he’d put Adam through over the past few months, probably the last few
years.He would completely understand if
Adam didn’t want to continue being hurt.Jack’s own feelings aside, he would accept Adam’s decision because if he
felt he couldn’t continue with Jack, Jack would let him go and wish him all the
happiness in the world.Or he hoped he
would.

“No, but it hurts to be ignored.”

Jack breathed a sigh of relief.He needed to change or he would lose Adam.

“I’m going to make it up to
you.I want to prove to you that I can
change and by Christmas if you don’t believe that…then I’ll let you go.”

“Is that what you want?”

“No.I can’t imagine loving anyone but you.And while we’re apart, I’m going find a therapist to work on my
issues.There’s something holding me
back from exactly who I want to be and be with, and I need help to find out
what that is.”

There was a choked sound on the
other line before Adam grew silent.

“I know I’m messed up and the last
thing I wanted to do was to hurt you, but that’s exactly what I did. I can’t get past my own mind, so I need some
help.This time, I won’t take you for
granted.”

“Are you afraid to admit your
sexuality?”

“I suppose I am.Adam, although it looked as though I slept
with a lot of women, there has only been a few.Mainly it was camouflage.But I
felt like I found myself the first time I kissed you.I knew then I was gay and that you are the
only man I will ever want.”

Adam sighed.“You’re being surprisingly open about this.”

“The moment I heard the door shut
and I realized you left…It was the
worst moment of my life.I could take
seeing my father every day and listen to his bullshit, but I never want to feel
what I felt when you left.And knowing
that I drove you to it makes it worse.So much worse.”

Jack took a deep breath and
continued.“I just hope you’ll take me
back if I prove to you that I can change.”

Holding his breath, he waited for
Adam’s answer.Everything lost meaning
the moment Adam walked out the door and Jack needed confirmation that he had a
chance.

“Yes.”

Jack breathed out and closed his
eyes as the fist squeezing his heart for most of the morning, released its
painful hold.

“I know your busy Monday and Tuesday
nights, but I wondered if I could bring you dinner on Wednesday after work and
we could talk?”

Adam answered immediately.“I would like that.”

Jack mentally arranged his to-do
list and realized that Wednesday was three long days away.“I’ll miss you.”

“We could always call and text.I won’t be too busy for you.”

“Thanks for talking to me, even
though I’m not sure I deserved it.I’ll
talk to you soon, okay?”

Hiding
his feelings for his best friend has become second nature to Parker Hunt.Throughout his years of friendship with Jonah
Lee, he’d hoped for more, but he’d never been able to tell Jonah how he felt or
what he wanted.When Jonah’s plans fall
through for holiday break, Parker is determined to spend their lastChristmas
together and this time, be brave enough to tell Jonah exactly how he feels.

Jonah
Lee has always been in awe of his friend, Parker.His energy,enthusiasm, and honesty had drawn
Jonah to him from the first time they met.And while he’s always been an open book with Jonah, lately, Parker had
been holding something back.On top of
that, Jonah has realized that his feelings for Parker has grown and for the
first time in his life, he’s curious about whatParker’s lips would feel like
under his and what his definite male body would feel against his.

Will the holidays bring everything both
men want, or will they let thisopportunity pass them by?

Excerpt for You for Christmas (Contemporary
M/M Romance)

Parker
kept quiet, his body vibrating from Jonah’s voice and the assertive nature he
rarely showed.He’d managed to make
Parker’s knees weak whenever he did.Parker tried to breathe as desire for Jonah overwhelmed his senses, but
he gave up a moment later when Jonah pulled him through the door of their cabin
and slammed it behind them.The click of
the lock loud in the dark, quiet room.

Parker
had no idea what to say.Jonah pressed
him against the solid door behind him, pressing their chest together as Jonah’s
hands opened over and then tightened on Parker’s waist, holding him still.

“You
are…mine.”

Not
expecting those words and the impact they had on his body, Parker
whimpered.“Yes.”

Parker
watched as he caught the desire as it flared in Jonah’s eyes.A split second later, Jonah slanted his mouth
and pressed their lips together and Parker had never felt such a feeling in his
life.

Parker
let their first kiss consume him, loving the feel of Jonah’s soft lips against
his.When Jonah’s tongue swept inside,
he tasted the mint and Jonah and Parker felt his legs go weak.He ignored everything but the sensations
Jonah drew from him, and he opened his mouth wider, letting Jonah devour him.

Parker’s
arms banded against Jonah’s lower back when Jonah pulled back slightly, nibbling
on his lips but not moving away.Jonah
pressed their foreheads together and breathed heavily for several long minutes
as they stared into each other’s eyes.There was nothing Parker could say at that moment.It was everything he dreamed it could be, but
he had no idea what it meant to Jonah.

“I’ve
been so stupid.”

Jonah’s
voice was deeper than Parker had ever heard it, but his words registered and he
stiffened.Jonah regretted kissing
Parker.There was nothing worse than
having reality come crashing down.Searing pain slashed through Parker’s chest and he tried to untangle
himself and his hold on Jonah.

“No, Parker, I don’t regret the kiss.I’m sorry that I couldn’t tell you
sooner.I want you, Parker, but it’s
more than that.I want to share everything
with you, I want a relationship with you.”

Wednesday, December 27, 2017

Linda O’Connor started writing a few years
ago when she needed a creative outlet other than subtly rearranging the
displays at the local home décor store. It turns out she loves writing romantic
comedies and has a few more stories to tell. When not writing, she’s a
physician at an Urgent Care Clinic (well, even when she is writing she’s a
physician, and it shows up in her stories :D ). She hangs out at www.lindaoconnor.net.

Laugh every day. Love every minute.

Thanks
so much for hosting me on your blog today!

Perfectly
Christmas is a contemporary romantic comedy. It’s stand-alone holiday romance
about two doctors in a small town and the crazy balancing act between work and
love. To add to the mayhem – the townsfolk don’t want to lose their only family
doctor, so they’re working behind the scenes to keep Madison and Quinn apart!

Perfectly Christmas Blurb:

On the
first day of Christmas, his true love said to him, “Sorry, I have to work.”
That’s the life of a surgeon, and Dr. Madison Hayes wouldn’t have it any other
way.

Dr.
Quinn Malone has another priority. In the countdown to Christmas, he needs to convince
his old flame that there’s more to life – and love – than the job itself.

This
time, his heart is in it for the long haul. Really.

Romantic
and . . . complicated – it’s Perfectly Christmas!

Perfectly Christmas Excerpt:

Peggy stopped at the door. “Oh, one
more thing. Did you want to be a part of the office Secret Santa? We pick names
out of a hat, and each day during the twelve days of Christmas someone opens a
gift.” She grinned. “Technically, we know, the twelve days of Christmas starts
on December twenty-fifth, but we use it as a countdown to Christmas. We have a
lot of fun with it.”

Madison hesitated. She wasn’t really
big into exchanging presents. Stuff you didn’t need and wanted less. But Peggy
and Nina were looking at her like it was the best thing ever.

Small town. Two years. Try to fit in.
She sighed. She could always ask her sister for suggestions. “Okay, yeah.
Sounds fun.” Translation: stressful.

Peggy’s grin widened. “I’ll be right
back.”

After a moment, Peggy returned carrying
a Christmas bag. She shook it and paper rustled inside. “Here you go. Pick one,
but don’t tell us.”

Madison held back a sigh, reached in
the bag, and picked out a piece of paper.

Tuesday, December 26, 2017

Laura Haley-McNeil is an award-winning author of romantic suspense and women’s
fiction in novel length and in short stories. Her work has been featured in
several women’s magazines. She has studied piano and ballet and has been a
board member for two community orchestras. She and her husband reside in
Colorado. When she isn’t writing, she jogs, bicycles and crochets.

Laura’s Silver Bells

Christmas was always a special time when I
was growing up. My mother’s birthday was Christmas Eve and because of that family
and friends remembered her birthday. Though I come from a large family, my
mother opened her home to everyone. The week before Christmas, Mom would spend
time shopping and cooking and when Christmas Eve came, she would invite
everyone she knew, and some people she didn’t know well, to come to the house
to celebrate Christmas. The house was decorated with boughs and lights and
smelled like a forest with all the evergreen trimmings.

The tree was always beautiful with
multicolored lights and tinsel, which I don’t think anyone uses anymore, and
decorations that we made when we were children. She also had a collection of
silver bell Christmas ornaments. She collected one every year so they’ve been
embossed with the year she collected them. The older ones are tarnished, but
the newer ones were treated so that they wouldn’t tarnish. When Mom and Dad
grew older, they sold their home and moved into an apartment. They only had
room for a small tree. When they moved, they gave away their Christmas
decorations, but not the silver bells. Those were the only ornaments they
placed on the tree, but they were so beautiful, the tree didn’t need any other
decoration.

My parents are gone now. When my sisters and
brother and I were sorting through their belongings, we found the silver bells,
one for each Christmas my parents had been together. We divided them up and now
each of us has a silver bell collection. I love placing them on the tree in my
home. It makes me remember the wonderful Christmases my parents planned for us.
I miss my parents very much, but am so grateful for the memories they created
for us and the reminders that hide all year in the Christmas ornament box to be
revealed this special time of year when we decorate for Christmas.

I hope you’re enjoying a wonderful holiday
season. I wish you peace, joy, and love as we celebrate the most wonderful time
of the year.

When a blinding snowstorm shuts down the
Crystal Creek Ranch's cattle operation, the Whitlochs have one mission - save
the cattle. ER doc Jake Whitloch joins in the rescue, but the form he finds in
a snowdrift is no cow. It's a woman, a woman who consumes his thoughts despite
that two carat diamond sitting on her ring finger.

Noelle Beaupré thanks the rugged doctor for rescuing her from freezing to death
and the Whitlochs for taking her into their home, but now it's time for her to
leave the ranch. She longs to stay with the man who's determined to protect
her, but she doesn't dare. Her deadly secret is in hot pursuit. Any delay and
she'll endanger the family who opened their home to her.

Noelle leaving Crystal Creek Ranch? Jake can't let her go, but how can he
convince her he'll to anything to keep her safe?

This book includes your favorite Crystal Creek characters from Book One of the
Crystal Creek Series and several new characters, including Max Whitloch's
children from his previous marriages who come to the ranch for Victoria and
Garrett's wedding. All Max's children will have their own books as they pursue
their quests for love.Guarding Her Heart Book #1

Dr.
Jake Whitloch white knuckled the steering wheel of the old ranch truck and
squinted through the windshield. The truck’s bumper crunched through hubcap
high snow covering the service road. At ten o’clock in the morning, the heavy
snowfall had shrouded Crystal Creek Ranch making the day as dark as night. He
flipped on the headlights.

It
was crazy to be out in this blizzard. Hunting for stranded cattle made the risk
a priority.

The
Whitloch’s hired hands corralled together their duallys and SUVs and headed out
to the back pastures, doing what they did best--risking their lives for the
good of the ranch and for the owner they admired—Rose Whitloch, Jake’s
step-mother.

Jake
couldn’t let the ranch hands do it alone. He volunteered to check the south
pastures.

He
was out in the blizzard for a reason he pushed out of his mind. In this
weather, he focused on the truck and on the road. No time to think about why he
left Philadelphia.

The
windshield wipers kicked back and forth like the Rockettes performing their
Christmas finale. The wipers flipped the snowflakes right, then left. Faster,
faster, but not fast enough. The snow piled on the windshield, piled on the
hood, kept falling, falling, falling.

Thlpt.

That
sound again. Tire tread gripping for snow, sliding over ice.

Panic
shot up Jake’s throat. Lodged like a spear gun at the base of his brain.

The
treads lodged into a road rut, jerked to a stop. The brakes wheezed. The truck
groaned.

Jake
glanced out the side window. Not face on. He didn’t want to see how close he
was to the creek bank until his brain understood that he had a few feet of
buffer before falling over the edge.

He
shifted his eyes sideways so hard he felt the ache in the back of his head. He
ignored it. He studied the ground. The truck had stopped a few feet from the
creek’s edge.

Closer
than last time. But a few feet was a few feet.

His
lungs eased like a deflating tire. He’d been right. That was the thought he
allowed into his head. Behind that thought pulsed the real relief— he was safe.

He
eased out the clutch. The truck crept forward. He squinted through the snow
that whipped at the glass like the Enterprise traveling through space at warp
speed.

As
far as he could see, thick snow blanketed the ranch’s rolling hills and ragged
bluffs.

The
storm had started Monday. Four days ago. There was no sign of it stopping. The
snowbanks along the driveway and the paths to the barn, the outbuildings, and
the bunkhouse grew higher until they were almost as tall as his stepmother’s
two and one half-story ranch house.

The
snow was beautiful. More beautiful than the snow covered Philadelphia concrete
and asphalt he trudged through every day to work in the inner city hospital’s
emergency room. He watched the pristine white sift over the trees. It was as
soothing as soaking in a tub of scented oil.

Fluffy.
White. Snow.

Beautiful.

With
the beauty, came treachery. Namely for the cattle. They would be foraging
through the snowdrifts in search of food.

Food
that would be difficult to find during this storm.

Jake
and the hired hands navigated various parts of the ranch to make sure the
cattle stranded by the snowstorm had found the bales of hay dropped by the
helicopters.

He
saw plenty of snow but no cattle. He only prayed that no cow had been trapped
in the snowdrifts and was starving to death or worse freezing to death.

His
sister and half-sisters told him he was insane to go out in this weather.

It
would’ve been more insane to sit in the house and brood over the decision he’d
made last weekend. He had to get away, get away from the mental banter that
questioned the wisdom of his decision.

Yes,
he was glad that his half-sister, Victoria, had escaped the clutches of a
serial killer, that she and Garrett Nelson Reynolds were getting married, that
Garrett had changed his mind about pursuing his family’s vendetta to reclaim
Crystal Creek Ranch.

He
was glad Christmas was in three days.

But
with Victoria’s and Garrett’s upcoming Christmas Eve nuptials, the house was in
turmoil.

Add
to that the mysterious disappearance of Maxwell Aloysius Whitloch, Sr., Rose’s
ex-husband, Jake’s father and the father of his siblings and half siblings.

The
entire Whitloch clan had converged on the ranch to help Victoria celebrate her
wedding and to await word from their oldest brother Max Junior regarding their
father.

No
word came.

That
was when Jake had snatched up the battered cowboy hat he wore whenever he
visited the ranch, borrowed the foreman’s keys to the ranch truck, and ventured
into the snowstorm.

Jake
guided the truck over the bumpy road. Snowflakes batted the windshield. The
wipers shoved the flakes aside but a new blanket covered the windshield almost
as quickly as the wipers whisked them away.

It
was between swipes of the blades that he saw the dark form in the snowdrift.
That swelling he sometimes felt in his throat when he worked in the emergency
room flooded him. The rush always accompanied unwanted emotions, emotions that
bordered on fear, anxiety, that not-a-good-feeling feeling.

The
form didn’t move, didn’t react to the sound of the engine charging through the
snow.

He
edged closer. The size of the form should have grown larger. Instead, it seemed
to shrink. It was small, too small to be a cow. It had to be a calf. But in the
middle of winter? He may be a city slicker, but even he knew calving season was
in the spring.

“How’re
you doing out there, Doc?” Ralph’s, the foreman, voice crackled over the
walkie-talkie.

Jake
pressed the talk button. “I haven’t seen any cattle, but there’s something up
ahead. I’m going to check it.” Jake aimed the headlights over the mound and set
the emergency brakes. “I’ll radio you once I find out what this is.”

“Leave
it, Doc,” Ralph said. “No reason to risk your life for a cow. It’s snowing
concrete blocks. When this storm lets up, me or one of the hands will check it
out.”

“Don’t
worry, Ralph. It’s not a cow. It’s too small to be a cow. I’ll get back to
you.” Jake turned off the walkie-talkie.

Arguing
with Ralph was wasting precious time if this mound was an actual living,
breathing creature. Human or animal, Jake was in the business of saving lives.

He
pulled up his coat collar and shoved down his cowboy hat until the band caught
his ears. He climbed out of the cab and hunched his shoulders. Snow beat at his
face and slapped his chest. He tucked his chin and barreled into an army of
snowflakes.

In
the few minutes since he’d first spied the mound, the snow had nearly covered
the dark shape.

He
reached a gloved hand toward the form and dusted away the snow. A streak of
strawberry blond hair glinted beneath the flakes.

A
snare drum heartbeat battered his rib cage. What was he seeing? A fox? No.
Lying in the snow was hair, not fur.

He
bowed over the form and with both hands brushed heaps of snow away from the
figure.

Dark
lashes appeared as two velvet crescents in a face as white as the snow.

“Dear
God.” He breathed.

The
form was a person, a small person, a child. What was this child doing wandering
through a snowstorm?

Adrenaline
shot through his veins. The familiar metallic taste of the emergency room
lifesaving mode burst into his mouth. Someone in trouble. Save the person in
trouble.

The
muscles around his throat clenched. He’d worked in an emergency room long
enough to know the many reasons children ran away. From home? From someplace
else?

He
scooped his arms beneath the tiny body, braced his back and lifted the child
from the snow mound. The lightness stunned him. The poor thing weighed less
than a bag of oats. How could a human weigh so little?

The
child’s wool jacket was slippery with snow, and the unconscious form slid
through his arms. He shifted the limp body and held it close.

His
hand pressed a pillowy soft shape. He jerked upright. The stirring within
heated him like a hot numbness that made him want to dive into the snow to cool
off.

Daryl (@daryldevore) lives in an
old farmhouse in Ontario, Canada, with her husband, a large salt water aquarium
full of fish, a black cat named Licorice and some house ghosts. Her daughter is
grown and has flown the nest. Daryl loves to take long walks on her quiet
country road or snowshoe across the back acres, and in the summer, kayak along
the St. Lawrence River. She has touched a moon rock, a mammoth, and a
meteorite. She’s been deep in the ocean in a submarine, flown high over Niagara
Falls in a helicopter, and used the ladies room in a royal palace. Life’s an
adventure and Daryl’s having fun living it.

Love in the Key of C

Sweet Christmas Romance

Daryl Devoré

Writing as Victoria Adams

In 2016, my publisher put out a call for Christmas stories.
They wanted to release a short Christmas romance every day in December.I didn't submit my name to write a story, but
suddenly one popped into my head. And in about two days I wrote it. The word
count had to be under 10,000, so it's not like I wrote a 50,000-word book in 2
days!

But I was too late for that year's publication. So, I sat on
the book for a year and kept my fingers crossed they would do the same
Book-A-Day idea. They did. And I jumped on getting my name onto the list.

I have a new favourite Christmas Carol. It is a traditional
song – Carol of the Bells – but with a modern kick. It is the Trans Siberian
Orchestra's Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24.
To catch a listen - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6FhOb7-1dg

There is a story to TSO's version - on Christmas Eve, a lone
man challenges the war playing music on the rubble of the destruction of his
city – Sarajevo. When you listen to this song, you can hear the beauty and then
the destruction – the jarring rock music wonderfully portraying the bombs and
chaos. In Love in the Key of C, the
rock music is Giselle's life, which is her personal war.

Why have I authored it as Daryl Devore writing as Victoria
Adams. Daryl Devoré writes hot/erotic romances. Love in the Key of C is a sweet
romance, so I used my other pen name.

Blurb for Love in the
Key of C

Can a slice of
pizza and a flute erase the ravages of life and allow Giselle and Ethan to fall
in love by Christmas?

Collapsing in front the biggest department store in
the city on one of the busiest days of the holiday season was not how Giselle
imagined her day. Cold and hungry, she trudged through her daily existence
wondering if she'd ever find happiness again.

Teenagers. Ethan
loved working with them and turning their raw musical talent into something
beautiful and rewarding, but that didn't fill the black void in his soul.

Like fate, the
songwriters' muse nudged Giselle and Ethan together. But can Giselle overcome
her fears and can Ethan get past the darkness that surrounds him, so they can
find love?

Excerpt for Love in
the Key of C

My feet edged
me closer. It had to be my feet doing it on their own. My instinct was to turn
and scurry off in any other direction, like a mouse avoiding a predator. But my
feet dragged me closer to the music and the man.

He glanced to
his left and smiled at me.

Despite all
that I had learned in the past few months of living alone on the streets, I
summoned up a moment of courage. "Beautiful music. Carol of the Bells. One
of my favorite Christmas songs."

His scan of me
was lightning fast. I'd registered a millisecond of understanding and pity in
his expression, before it was masked with a cheerful grin. "Well then,
come on in, sit and have a listen. Warm up a bit from this miserable day."
He glanced at the dull gray sky and shook his head.

I didn't move.
An offer of warmth and a place to rest and suddenly my feet are frozen in
place?

He released a
soft chuckle. "This is the Blaine Thompson Concert Hall and there are
dozens of people inside. It's a rehearsal. Come on in and enjoy. Although you
may have to listen to the same song more than once while they work on getting
it right."

A head popped
out of the door opening. I'm guessing there was a body attached to it, but all
I saw was a head. "Lunch is here." Then the head disappeared back
inside.

At various
times in my life, several different parts of my body have taken control of me.
Once was my heart, but that was a terrible and never to be repeated moment. A
few minutes ago, my feet drew me to this spot. Now my stomach stepped forward
to take command. It shouted that lunch was waiting inside and I'd better move
my butt.

He held the
door for me. I hesitated. A waft of warm air enhanced with the smell of
pepperoni pizza brushed past me. I stepped forward, entering the building. A
thought nudged me, like it was trying to tell me that I wasn't walking through
a doorway, but was stepping into my future.

A CHRISTMAS ANTHOLOGY

Targeted

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We'd Rather be Writing...

Bake, Love, Write

About Me

I'm a Canadian author who writes murder, mystery, medical thrillers, romantic suspense, often set in Montana on a ranch. I recently dived into self-publishing and I love the challenge. It's exciting. Hunted was my first novel, then Missing and Targeted, the third in the series, set in Montana. Another series about an assistant PI, A Cruise to Remember and A Murder to Forget . By Design, on cloning. And I'm working on Death Southern Style set in New Orleans. I'm hoping to finish it by the end of September. Check them out and let me know what you think.